Dr. Herbert Benson and Dr. Robert Keith
Wallace collaborated on a study
of Reduced Drug and Alcohol Use in 1862 students, while at Harvard,
specifically studying the
Transcendental Meditation technique.

The Relaxation Response was found to be the same as a Placebo
in reducing trait anxiety in a meta-analysis of 146 studies.
Meta-Analysis 2– Decreased
Trait Anxiety through the Transcendental Meditation technique Compared
to Other Meditation and Relaxation Techniques.

Trait anxiety, one’s typical state of anxiety, is a key indicator of
psychological relaxation. This meta-analysis compared all techniques on
which trait anxiety had been studied, 146 independent outcomes. The subject
populations included in the study were college, high school, adult,
psychiatric or drug abuse patients, children, adult prisoners, juvenile
offenders, and the elderly. Subjects with initially high and low levels of
anxiety were also studied. The techniques studied were the Transcendental
Meditation technique, Progressive Relaxation (PR), Benson's Relaxation
Response technique, concentration meditation, Sanskrit mantra meditation
with permissive attitude, EMG biofeedback, and placebo techniques. The study
found that the Transcendental Meditation program had more than twice the
effect size on reducing trait anxiety as all other treatments. All the other
techniques scored no better than a placebo. The exception was Concentration
Meditation, which was less effective than a placebo, indicating that
concentration and control of the mind can exacerbate anxiety.

This meta-analysis controlled for a number of possible confounding
variables, including mental health status of the population, age, sex,
experimental design, duration and hours of treatment, pretest anxiety,
demand characteristics, expectation effects, experimenter attitude (whether
the researcher was pro- or anti-TM), type of publication, and attrition.
These controls did not alter the overall conclusions. The difference in
effect sizes between the Transcendental Meditation program and other
treatments was maintained even when only published studies were included,
when only studies with the strongest design were included, or when only
randomized studies conducted by researchers who were neutral or negative
towards the TM program were included. Of all the techniques studied, only
the Transcendental Meditation technique showed a positive correlation
between the reduction of anxiety and length of time that the technique had
been practiced. These results indicate that it is the practice of the
Transcendental Meditation techniqueper
sethat causes the reduction
on anxiety, not some other factors.

There were 14 studies on the Transcendental Meditation technique and 11 on
relaxation techniques. The mean effect size for relaxation techniques was
.15, not significantly different from controls. By contrast, the mean effect
size for the Transcendental Meditation technique compared to controls was
.55 for all studies (N = 14) and also just for well-designed studies (N =
8). Moreover, the effect size was 1.35 for serious users. This suggests a
pattern of positive treatment effect that cannot be attributed to weak
designs of studies or studies focusing on more casual users. The results for
the other standard treatment programs are from published meta-analyses in
the literature, and indicate that Peer Influence is the best standard
treatment.

Chronic stress causes long-lasting neurochemical and endocrine abnormities,
which prolong psychological distress and impair coping abilities. Substance
abuse can be seen as an attempt to restore balance to the system through
self-medication. Unfortunately, the abused substances give rise to further
dysfunction and imbalance in the long run. The Transcendental Meditation
program provides a state of mind-body relaxation that naturally optimizes
the psychophysiology, thus removing the impetus for artificial attempts to
do so through drugs.2

Meta-Analysis 7– Improved
Psychological Health through the Transcendental Meditation Technique
Compared to Zen and Other Meditation Techniques Designed to Mimic the TM
technique (Relaxation Response Techniques).
The RR was the 3rd best technique studied.

This meta-analysis of 51 studies of different meditation techniques
consisting of more than 9,700 research subjects and 400 outcome findings
found a significantly larger effect size from the Transcendental Meditation
program compared to other forms of meditation on psychological measures
(e.g., anxiety and depression). The result was maintained in the studies of
highest validity and strongest experimental design.

Dr. Benson's research in to meditation
began with the Transcendental Meditation technique
as taught by Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi.

Dr. Benson has not learned TM, with the stated goal of
maintaining a neutral, objective position.
However, then he cannot personally appreciate, evaluate or validate the
TM experience as compared to the RR.

Research indicates
that TM, which has a particular way
of being taught,
is more effective in producing consistent results with a wider range of
benefits.

More than four million copies of his books have been printed in many languages.

Dr. Benson is a pioneer in mind/body medicine, as well as in bringing spirituality and
healing into medicine. Through his 35+ year career, he defined the relaxation response and continues
to lead teaching and research into its efficacy in counteracting the harmful effects of stress. The
recipient of numerous national and international awards, Dr. Benson lectures widely about mind/body
medicine and the M/BMI's work. His expertise is frequently sought by national and international news
media, and he appears in scores of newspapers, magazines, and television programs each year.

Dr. Benson's research extends from the laboratory to the clinic and to Asian field
expeditions. His work serves as a bridge between medicine and religion, East and West, mind and
body, and belief and science.

Wallace Robert K, Benson Herbert. The physiology of meditation. Scientific American
1972;226:84-90.

Dr. Benson has been a pioneer with intestinal fortitude,
studying the physiological changes during meditation
techniques since 1968 as a professor at Harvard
helping them become acceptable topics of study.